Cry, Little Sister
by whedonite1113
Summary: It is on a dark path unknown where Emily Fitch finds Naomi Campbell. A sea of supernatural occurrences unravels a malicious past, a terrifying present and a future more human than Emily ever imagined she'd experience again.
1. Thou Shall Not Fall

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: There will be several time jumps throughout this story, but I will do my best to make them as clear as I can. There will be eventual Naomily, but there is quite a bit to set up first. Read, review, and most of all enjoy! (But you might want to do so with the lights on ;) )**

**CHAPTER ONE: Thou Shall Not Fall**

_Bristol. 1913._

The light twinge of a bell rang through the mostly deserted street as the streetcar took a left turn onto Union Street. Clanking wheels ground against metal as the driver pulled the brake lever, bringing the packed room to a halt. Two gentlemen on each side of the stairs exited first to escort the ladies down the iron steps. A young lad with a freckled face and bushy brown eyebrows grinned at each hand he took, a slight blush creeping into his speckled cheeks. Each cotton glove which worked its way into his fingers made his grin rise on either side of his lips.

Upon the approach of a particularly floral petticoat, there was a sudden temperature drop in the air. The boy's disposition fell as something cold and cruel gripped over his heart. The clutching feeling increased when one thin, black glove took his hand. Glancing into the eyes of the person whom it belonged to, he stared back into the blackest and most intoxicating eyes he'd ever seen. Her deep, ruby lips formed into a quaint but vacant smile against perfectly porcelain skin. Her bodice draped low, exposing her neck from her collar bone to the tips of her shoulders. His breath caught when he realized how deeply and intensely she was staring at him. A throaty, husky laugh escaped into the night air once she set foot on the ground. "Thank you," she practically whispered, the tiniest hint of a lisp accompanying her sultry voice.

If the young man had been startled by this encounter, it held no candle to the sinking, sickening feeling which accompanied a pair of eyes matching the woman's whom he had just escorted. Yet, where the first had held an aura of darkness, these...these were like staring straight into hell itself. She was dressed from top to bottom in the finest of men's attire. All the facial features and structures were precisely the same. No hand was presented as she descended the steps, and the only acknowledgement given to the boy was a simple tipping of the head beneath a mane of thick, silken brown hair.

The suit joined the dress as the crowd continued to shuffle off of the bus and with their exit, the lad found the blood in his veins begin to warm.

Once the rest of the passengers unloaded, he climbed back into his tiny seat in the very back of the vehicle and quietly wept.

* * *

"Are you sure it's here?" the dress inquired as they strolled through the lights of the lampposts in the setting sun. "How reliable is a Ukrainian gypsy after all?" The suit smiled.

"She bled the information I needed," was the lilting, malicious reply.

The cobblestone sidewalk clicked beneath their shod heels as the pair walked in slow and perfect unison toward their intended destination. Travelling many miles over sea from the furthest parts of Africa, their hunt had led them back to their place of birth. Their first...and their second...

By-passers had the urge to either turn the corner or walk on the opposite sides of the street. But not without looking. Not without taking in the odd clandestine pair of matching eyes but vacant expressions as the duo's gazes remained fixated on the massive cathedral at the end of the crosswalk. The suit's tongue darted out to the side of her lips as they curled up in a hungry grin. The dress inhaled long and deep, a shiver welling down her spine so ferocious it took all of her strength to keep calm and pursue straight ahead. "They're in there," she said with a turn of her head. The suit clicked her tongue in the back of her throat as she said with a haunting murmur,

"I know." Bristol always had a familiar stench, like soaked wood rotting from the inside out, but even the town's acrid stench couldn't mask the appetizing taste of oncoming fear. Even if it was being smothered with layers of fruitless faith and hope. The aftertaste of the smell made the suit's nose crinkle just slightly. Her tongue slipped slowly back against her teeth as she closed her lips, approaching the foot of the great Bristol cathedral steps.

"Just don't touch anything," the dress insisted as they climbed the long walk of stairs leading up to the massive front entrance. They were met with chained and locked double doors which only made the suit smirk as her tiny hand reached out around the bolt and crumbled it into dust. With one powerful yank of the joined links, the entire blockade came down at their feet. Immediately, the dress's heeled boot made swift contact with the center of the entrance. The doors swung open with a loud crash as the beginnings of moonlight followed them into the vast and open chapel. "That was too easy."

"Not a trace of holy water on any of it," the suit redundantly observed. The dress rolled her eyes at the redundant comment. They both knew what that meant.

_They want us here. So this is a trap._

The two shared the thought, connected by some otherworldly bond. It was a side effect of what the suit had affectionately called their "unholy condition." The dress just called it an excuse to have a fuck load of fun. Telepathy wasn't a common gift to others of their kind. Had to be a twin thing. Or possibly, just a Fitch thing.

The suit strolled casually down the center aisle, the night air creeping in through the cracks of the high vaulted ceiling. Her sharp fingernails etched into tips of the pews. She kept her focus forward, eyes darting occasionally from side to side to double check the shadows for any kind of oncoming movement. No human would be able to outrun her, but if there was something else in the cathedral...something with a bit more punch...the creature ran her tongue along the inside of her bottom lip. She genuinely hoped there would be something mystical to sink her teeth into. Her heels clicked lightly in the echo of her light stroll, no other sound catching her ultra sensitive ears. She could make out the slight shift in water in the high pipes, but there wasn't the expected sound of...

_Theeeeere._

She halted in the middle of the aisle, inhaling the air slowly. Water wasn't the only thing pumping rapidly now. Her entire body shivered with the anticipation as she whispered a low and husky, "Katherine," and immediately felt her sister at her side. The two honed in on the brass latch which rested adjacent to the podium. Katherine draped her hand across the perfectly pressed lining of the suit's shoulders as she side stepped her sister and made her way to the pulpit. Her heels clicked a bit louder than the light press of the male dress shoes on her twin's feet, but when she stepped atop the flooring next to the ring, the tip of her toe was met with a hallowed reverberation.

"Going down, then, Emily?" Katherine sneered as with a sudden burst of strength she jumped ten feet into the air, her body showcasing no effort on her part. With a loud crash she plummeted straight through the door into whatever waited below. Emily rolled her eyes as she crossed to the freshly made opening and stood above the gaping hole her twin had just created.

"So theatrical," she bemoaned before leaping into the dark abyss below.

* * *

A cabinet door flew open and a hand frantically reached into it. Several hidden herbs and stored potions scrunched together under a fearful but focused eye as the priest stood before the ingredients, trying to remember which ones the woman had bade him to retrieve. The door behind him opened and he heard a frantic woman gasp. "Father! Father! They're here! The trap door upstairs was shattered, I heard it." The nun looked about frantically before shutting and latching the door. The catacombs had many tricky twists and turns which gave them a bit more time, but Father Thomas still had to concentrate.

"Sister," he said as calmly as he could, "I know you are frightened. But please...I need you to be quiet right now." He removed a light brown bottle as his dark eyes glanced over another label. The nun crossed up behind him and said in a whisper,

"Thomas. We aren't going to make it out of here. Are we?" The man sighed as he turned at last to the woman who was seeking him out for guidance or some assurance she was mistaken in her assumption. He could offer her none.

"I do not know," he replied, his thick Congo accent still not yet absolved from the years he'd spent in the British Ministry, "but either way, we have a mission to perform and complete." He removed the bottles from his hands and placed them on the apothecary table in front of him. Taking the flustered, pink cheeks of the woman in front of him, Thomas grappled with urges that were difficult to control even on the best days. He had always been able to spurn from his thoughts the devotions and affections of the nun, but now they overcame him with the impending peril. While he yearned to press his lips to hers, he simply settled on a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Do not be afraid, my child," he said, "God will always protect those who do his will, Sister Mary Patrick."

"Pandora," the woman before him corrected, "that was my name before I took my vows." Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, it was something more intimate than any other action of affection could possibly be, "I may regret it, but for the time being, I just want to be her again." The priest smiled. The young girl's pluck was something he had fallen for first and quickest.

"Then, Pandora, let's help them keep God's weapon safe." The youthful face smiled and nodded before taking the ebony hand in her own and leading Father Thomas back through the dimly lit hallway.

* * *

Emily's eye sight adjusted immediately to the looming darkness surrounding her. This was her element. Her rebirth was bred in the walls of shadow, if anything, she was now at the height of her game. Flickers of movement in the drip of the walls, or the scurrying creatures beyond the stone created enough electrical light for her feet to follow, and the glorious stench of fear drove her course. Her twin was just ahead of her, head turning ever so slightly as they whipped through the corridors with great speed. Their heightened senses acted as sonar, allowing them to perfectly maneuver the unlit passageway without colliding into any of the stone walls. Their targeted victims were near. After only a few moments within the gloomy walls they heard the faint noise of a terrified cry. The Fitch sisters smiled simultaneously as their front incisors lowered two inches, bearing glistening white and perfectly sharp razor fangs.

Turning a corner, a large, wooden door revealed the tiniest cracks of light. Chanting leaked through the massive hallway. Katherine licked her dangerous teeth.

_I truly hope they scream_, she thought to her twin. Emily's eagerness was just as pronounced but as they approached she warned,

_This is still too simple. Be prepared_. Katherine scoffed. _They can kill us all too easily if they really have what we're looking for_, Emily reminded her brash sister.

The door was brandished with crosses carved from olive wood. Katherine reached out and felt a sharp sting at the contact. Her flesh started to smoke and simmer beneath the blessed adornments. Gritting her teeth, her lowered fangs bit into her lip, forcing blood to leak slowly as her sub-human strength pushed against the door for a few more seconds before she had to release her hold. "Fuck," she grumbled. Taking Katherine's other hand in hers, Emily splayed her palm against the crack of the door and said,

"Together then." The twins pushed forcefully against the door. Emily's hand burned against the holy wood causing her to let out a low roar which to a human ear mimicked a prowling lioness. It echoed in the hallway and the Fitch sisters were able to pick up on the scurrying sounds and voices behind the door as they continued to push. Bringing her foot up with a final burst of energy, Emily kicked the spot just below her hand with all her might, splintering the opening just enough so she could wrap her hand around the door.

A scream, and the clear whirring of winds and mantra of chanting in Hungarian filtered from the inside room. _Get in there_, Katie commanded her sister. Emily wrapped both her hands around the opening, feeling the burning start to literally spark her flesh.

"Hurry, priestess!" a thick Congo accent resonated as Emily's grip tightened. Bringing her arm and shoulder roughly against the door, she was finally able to bust it open just in time to see a bottle being hurled at her head. She ducked out of the way only to hear it shatter against Katherine behind her. Her sister let out a screech, the holy water having burned a hole through the fabric and into her shoulder.

Emily was able to momentarily visually slow everything around her to take in her surroundings. Unaffected by the supernatural power, Katherine screamed behind her in actual time, darting from the open door, ripping away scorched fabric so her bare shoulders could begin the automatic healing process. The ground rumbled from the magic which was wafting through the room like the beginnings of a tidal wave. Emily, for the time being, couldn't focus in on the source, but just to her right stood a dark-skinned man in priests robes, big brass crosses brandished in each hand. Candles were lit throughout the room, their flames varying in color from red to blue to black. The stench of burnt herbs was offending, the combination clearly being used to mask the smell of the human blood pumping heavily through every living thing in the room. Now Emily knew why they had not picked up on their scent the moment they crossed the chapel threshold. It took great effort, but through her peripherals she saw a woman shrouded in black, levitating just above a pentagon drawn in blood, chanting in the Hungarian she had heard only seconds before.

Emily's vision returned to her in full speed and full force as she was knocked down on her haunches. Her attacker rolled her over but the minute he was able to get his hands around Emily's throat, her own came down across his head. Long, strong fingers crashed across his soft and tender skull and the following second, Emily removed a corpse from atop her. Katherine charged the cloaked woman, but was met with an unseen force upon contact. She staggered back a few feet as she sensed the invisible barrier which kept her from reaching out to grab at the box resting at the woman's feet. "Give it to me!" she shrieked. Emily's eyes shifted over her shoulder to the priest who was now without a guard to implement any attack. Her light pink tongue ran over her fangs as she imagined them sinking down into his neck, tasting the sweet metallic life nectar he would give her.

"Pure soul," she whispered as she quietly approached the man who stood his ground with trembling hands. "Your chastity will make you taste sweeter than a baby." His lips began to move as Emily approached. A quiet prayer in Latin escaped his lips.

"Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris." Emily smiled at the familiar cadence of a stanza from The Lord's Prayer.

"You've spent your whole life locking in your virtue." Her body shivered as she added, "It will leak onto my tongue."

Father Thomas raised his hands higher as Emily's slow approach gained momentum. The blonde nun grabbed a nearby iron pole while he continued to block the path between the hunter and its prey. The crosses lightly twinged Emily's eyes, but she kept her focus locked on the darkening and fearful gaze of the nun's light blue eyes. With a blink she could manipulate the virgin woman into doing her bidding, but what she had in mind was much more fun. Now the sister joined the father in his chant,

"Et ne nos inducas in tentationem." Closing her eyes and focusing her strength into the force of her fist, Emily's hand shot out onto the cross, wrapping her fingers atop Thomas' who let out a shriek of pain as the residual burn to Emily's tainted flesh scorched his. Pandora screamed at the sight before her, Emily's mouth lowering slowly to present her true weapon which would soon end the innocent lives before her. Through gritted teeth, Thomas continued, "Sed libera nos-"

A quick snap brought Thomas' hand back, fracturing the ligaments in his wrist, and bringing him to his knees as the cross fell from his hand. Pandora brought the iron rod down toward Emily's shoulder but it was met with a swift hand which immediately yanked the weapon from the nun's grasp and brought it quickly and swiftly over her head. The nun's habit filled with blood, christening the white with crimson. Pandora fell to the floor. She wouldn't move again. "Pandora!" Thomas cried as the swift actions fell into place before he could think, let alone act to prevent any of it from happening. Still clutching the smaller cross in his fingers, he brought the relic down on Emily's leg. The flesh beneath burned as Emily let out a howl. But Thomas was foolish to remove his weapon because the instant he raised it and tried to bring it down onto the beautiful but hollow face, Emily whipped it free of Thomas' hands and sunk her fangs deep into his neck.

Thomas choked and gurgled as Emily feasted on the hot, flowing blood. A sharp, tight bite pulled the primary artery from his neck. Swallowing it in one gulp as Thomas' bleeding body fell to the floor, Emily finished, "But deliver us from evil," and licked the gore from her face with a wicked smile.

Cracking shock waves of pain pierced the back of Emily's head. Moaning and clutching her temples to stabilizing her vision from the blinding agony, her glossed perception saw Katherine's face scrunching in agony as she tried to physically force her way through the force field keeping her from the priestess. She watched as Katherine's hands splayed against the pressure, and the room shook from the force as the cloaked woman continued to chant into the echoing room. Emily grimaced, knowing the sensations resonating in her body were a direct conduit from Katherine herself. Shaking her head to break the connection, she staggered to her twin's side. "Katherine, let it go! She's killing you, I can fucking feel it!"

"I need that weapon, Emily! We won't ever be safe with it in their hands!" Emily fully observed the priestess for the very first time. Her hands extended down toward the object below but her focus was on Katherine, blackened eyes locked behind a sallow but young, pale face. White hair cloaked down past her chest, windblown in the tumultuous cyclone of air spread throughout the room, gusting through with the magic crackling from her fingertips. Her splitting, dry lips chanted out continuously in the Hungarian tongue. Emily's ear had picked up on many languages in the last two hundred plus years, but her Slavic dialects were bare minimum and sluggish at best. She did catch "protection," "death," and "destruction" which normally the Fitch sister would be down for, but somehow she doubted it was an incantation for fun. Emily's hands joined Katherine's against the force field, but neither had any luck in breaking through.

Suddenly, a strong electric current passed through Emily's body as if someone were beating her with a trolley wire. Her vision fogged to nearly match the opaque color of her sclera as she was pulled through the force field. Her neck was caught and squeezed by the priestess who dangled Emily like a rag doll in her grasp so her toes were barely brushed the ground. Emily heard Katherine call her name but the priestess had twisted her free hand in the sister's direction, blasting her up against the ceiling. Katherine's body locked in a petrified state, leaving her immobile to do anything to come to her twin's aid or to reach the object she was craving to possess.

Emily stared into the black abyss of the priestess' eyes, a gut-wrenching fear clawing at her stomach as the ear-splitting winds within the barrier echoed through her mind. She was forced to gaze into the vortex, sensing nothing apart from her surroundings. Her vision continued to cloud over from the hold around her throat, not for lack of breath, but because her clasp seeped through the priestess' touch into Emily's pores, suffocating her very life force. As the priestess spoke, Emily saw the words appear in the back of her own eyes as they shut upon silent command. As each piece of the sentence fell into place...a phantom echo began beating in the depths of Emily's chest.

"Üres gyermek öntött a sötétségbe, a bűn nem a saját, de a kegyetlenség követel megtorlás. Séta a maradék napot a határain a bűntudat. És orr a fejed a nap kegyetlen égési sérüléseket."

The words spilled out in the woman's thick foreign tongue, but Emily's mind translated each one crisp and clear, "Empty child cast into darkness, your sins are not your own, but your cruelty demands retribution. Walk your remaining days in the confines of your guilt. And bow your head in the sun's unmerciful burn." The final utterance of the last syllable shook Emily's entire being into stillness, and the beating in her chest went from a small pattering to a sledgehammer pounding. The clench around her neck began to hurt and flood her with panic because...she was being denied air...and she could feel pinkening in her cheeks as the lack of oxygen mixed with a heated warmth spread through her entire body. Emily's fingers grappled with the hand which held her captive.

_I can't breathe...what the fuck...breathe...can't...breathe...I-_

The priestess smiled.

With a burst of strength, and with a mighty push, the priestess sent the transforming figure through the stone of the cellar and up into the broken halls of the chapel. The crash resounded through the room, a battered and writhing Emily left on the ground with bone-shattering wounds while below her, Katherine fell from the ceiling to the floor. The priestess' eyes were focused on the gaping hole she had made, and finally, the twin saw her advantage. A weak spot in the bottom of the barrier sifted through the thickened air. There was just enough space for Katherine's thin arm to fit through. Stretching from where she lay, Katherine grabbed the priestess' ankle, and gave it a firm, cracking snap. The woman shrieked as the remaining barrier fell from around her, allowing Katherine to pull the woman to the ground and climb atop her waist. Blackened, mystical eyes faded into the trembling brown of a normal human being and Katherine had expected there to be fear hidden beneath them in the woman's final moments. All that shone back was a resoundingly terrifying smirk which seemed to say to the twin, "You've lost." Rage surged through Katherine at the implication, and with a lightning fast twist, the priestess' head was removed from her body. A glower settled in her expression as Katherine licked the profusely bleeding neck. After drinking the magically charged liquid, a surge of strength rejuvenated her, and her eyes glinted in the direction of the box, now only inches from her feet. Casting the head aside, she smiled as she knelt before the small treasure chest.

* * *

Emily Fitch hadn't dreamed in two centuries. It was impossible. Once her new life began, reflection became a thing of the past, both in her mind's eye and in the physical representation of the word. Now it was returning in one rushing swoop, memories of centuries of torture, anguish, and havoc wreaked upon mankind at her expense. Katherine had always been ruthless and malicious, but Emily took a different approach. In life she'd always been empathetic and passionate. In death, she had become a thing of malice and horror, an exact opposite and perfect parallel of herself. The weight of all these acts came crushing down into her, breaking her apart so when she opened her eyes on the cathedral floor, her throat opened to release a howl of pain no creature before had ever unleashed. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she continued to wail, fingernails grappling into her hair as she was forced to remember her ruthless past. Her heart thundered in her chest as grief for her actions overtook her and she felt herself begin to spiral into madness. Crying voices echoed in the back of her mind so strongly she could actually hear them vibrate in her ears, the final words of all of her victims in several tongues and languages, pleading for one moment more of life, and Emily's sadistic unwillingness to bid them another living moment on this earth. If the memories were torture, the voices were a gateway into hell. It terrified Emily. So much so that she shot to her feet, furiously looking around for a source they were somehow leaking toward her from.

_Everywhere...it's everywhere..._

A loud crash heralded Katherine's arrival from below, her hands empty. She clutched her sister's arms ferociously and stammered, "He's here, Emily, I don't know how he found us but-" when she didn't get a response from her practically comatose sister, her nostrils flared at the sudden change in the way Emily smelled. "Jesus fuck," Katherine whispered, releasing Emily immediately as the stench of pumping human blood radiated from her twin. "How?"

Emily blinked once...twice...the ground beneath her rumbled. From the hole which Katherine had just emerged rose a face all too familiar, and etched upon it were years of destitute, solitude, and grief. His torn and tattered suit and spats were covered in blood and residue from the short but fierce battle below which had driven the siblings above ground. He held the small brown chest in his arms, and as he slowly approached, a sad but satisfied grin cracked into the muck covering his face. "Do we finally end the chase here, sisters, after all these years?" His voice was raspy and barely reminiscent of the boy they had once played with in the fields of their home in another town of another time, one which had seen to it the three of them were robbed of everything they held precious and dear. Emily recalled every moment spent with her young brother in play, heads bowed obediently in church, and soft moments of quiet beneath the stars in their barn. In those moments, she mourned her past...for the very first time. Fresh tears prickled her eyes as her lips sputtered and curled her brother's name in a broken timber,

"James," she said. The crack in her voice softened the blueish eyes in front of her. All three gave momentary pause to the emotion dripping from the youngest twin's voice...but the moment quickly passed as James Fitch broke the lock which held the weapon Katherine coveted and brandished it before their eyes with a ferocious swoop of his arms.

"No tricks," he growled, "you're dead. And now you'll be dust." As he charged, Emily turned toward the still open chapel door into the full cloak of night while Katherine turned and faced the oncoming assault of her brother.

* * *

Charging into the street, Emily only made it a few feet before being nearly run over by an streetcar, having to practically barrel her own way past into a nearby ally. Her feet stumbled over one another as she struggled to keep upright, the echoes in her head threatening to concave her mind entirely. The farther and harder she ran the more her muscles ached, the tighter the clenching in her chest became, and the more visceral and hurried the flashbacks became. She had lost general control of her motor functions apart from her moving legs and was now barreling through Bristol on complete auto-pilot. She no longer cared where Katherine or James were, what they had come to the city for, nor what could actually be happening to her.

_I have to escape..._

Tumbling against a nearby wall, she flung herself against the edge, instantly smelling the coastal air as she clutched the side of her head and sobbed, "Make it stop, please, I'm sorry...I'm sorry...just make it stop..." A loud crash above her brought James Fitch toppling on her. Instinctually, she knew she was faster and stronger than he was, but the physical compounded with the metaphorical weight was too much for her in the moment. It wasn't until she felt his hands twist her neck that her survival instinct kicked in, and her fist collided with his stomach, knocking him down the stretch of the nearby bridge. People everywhere stopped and gaped at the scene unfolding around them. A few women even screamed from the collision James' body made against the street. Emily stumbled to her feet and felt a low growl begin in the back of her throat. Convinced she had rendered him useless for the time being, she slowly began to walk through the parting crowd. Hobbling a few feet, it wasn't long before the gripping voices took hold of her mind again. She couldn't even find a moment to focus. Her body collided with the side of the walkway and a nearby gentleman rushed to her side, offering her assistance. The smell of his blood curled under her nose, causing her fangs to drop as her hand shot out toward his neck for his kindness. Before she could bite, she caught sight of his eyes, paralyzed in fear and she knew...she'd caused that look so many times. It wasn't just fear, it was a paralyzing anguish which all human beings carried with them in their final moments of life. Up until that very moment it had been an addicting additive for Emily. Now it was a poison. Her body craved what her sensitive ears heard pumping in his veins but she could not...would not...slake her yearning. Releasing him, the man scurried away immediately. A wave of exhaustion overtook Emily as she braced herself against the railing yet again.

"Emily..." a far off voice called to her. Turning over her shoulder, Emily saw Katherine standing several hundred feet down the bridge. The twins' eyes locked for a brief second, and in that moment, a panicked look of terror overtook Katherine as she immediately began to charge toward Emily...but all too late. A surge of physical pain to meet the one beating down on her heart burst through Emily's body. Emily's head bobbed down as she witnessed the twist of a pointed wood gaping through her chest, just a few inches short of where her heart would be. Blood spilled from the gaping wound as Katherine rushed forward. The object was violently ripped from Emily's chest. The wounded twin turned to look for her brother, but he had already vanished into the dead of night, succeeding in his perilous task of taking down his older sister. Emily's blood-soaked hand reached toward her sister, who was inches away. Darkness flooded her vision, and her body collapsed, but not to the cobblestone bridge. The weight of the removal of the weapon had spun Emily's supernatural equilibrium fast and hard, and just as Katherine's fingertips swept the now absent air of her twins', Emily Fitch fell into the basin of the Bristol canal below.


	2. Fabric Of Your Flesh

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for all the reads and reviews on this story so far. I understand I am taking a risk in throwing these characters into this particular genre, but trust me when I say, this will be the farthest thing from 'Twilight' you will ever read. No vampires will sparkle here. Still no Naomily yet, but it's coming I promise, so sit tight. Read, review, enjoy my dears!**

**CHAPTER TWO: Fabric Of Your Flesh**

_I'm drowning._

It was the first thought Emily hadn't shared with anyone else in years. And it was a fact. The icy clutch of the water enveloped her. Fingers and toes tingled. Her mind panicked, her eyes shot open, but she couldn't raise her arms to push toward the surface. She was sinking slowly through the drain of the canal, small bursts of moonlight playing against the water's surface.

_As far as last sights go…I could do worse._

Something hard knocked her leg, knocking her forward so she spun over head over feet. It was an instant reminder that even if her arms didn't work, her legs did.

_Move…move…kick…._she commanded herself. Each stroke was exhibited through wildly painful effort, but eventually, against the strain of the crane of her neck, she could finally see the surface.

_Just...one...more... _

Her head burst through the surface of the water as Emily inhaled the night air pouring down into her now pumping lungs. Her chest constricted as her hand clamped down on the clothing around it. Against her battered knuckles, she felt the gaping, open wound. Groaning loudly, she bobbed in the water, fighting to keep her head up. Spinning to and fro she looked around until she caught a glimpse a nearby bank just beneath the undertow of a pier. Willing her body to use its remaining strength, her legs paddled in the direction she had chosen. Just when she was certain she was about to pass out from the exertion, her hand slapped onto the muddy landing. Her shoulders painfully flexed as she used them to pull herself from her near watery grave.

Her wet back and neck slumped into the mud as her beating heart started to hammer heavily in her chest yet again. Blood was still leaking from her chest, and the dip in the canal had done little to cease the flow.

_It should have healed by now…why hasn't it healed…_

With the imminent fear of death now subsiding, Emily's shaken and quaking body slowly trudged up the sloshy and slippery hill as she pulled her jacket tightly around her chest, wincing as the fabric made contact with the blood-soaked gash. The hairs on her arms and legs prickled as she shivered from the cold. Staggering away from the fishy stench of the bank, Emily half-walked, half-crawled her way toward the street. Her mind reeled, her body ached, her ears pumped with fluid, and the voices in her head returned with a bombastic vengeance. Stumbling into the closest ally, she braced herself against the damp, brick wall as another bout of guilt and fear ripped through her body.

The pain in her chest brought her to her knees as she gurgled and battled for breath, unsure whether consciousness was preferred at this point and time or not. Shutting her eyes tight against the agony, a visceral memory replayed in her mind's eyes, one from several decades ago where she and Katherine had been on expedition in Cairo.

It was there they'd first heard talk of this mystical weapon which both entranced and terrified the twins. Their initial instincts had been the same: to seek it out, but while Emily thought it needed to be destroyed, Katherine sought to obtain and wield it. The twins spent several hours later that night in the moonlit shade of the Nile slowly torturing the young girl who had so foolishly told them the story for any more information they could obtain about the object's location. It had been easy enough. Katherine had lured the malnourished child away with a bit of bread, and the promise of some grapes and water in her tent. No one heard the screams which later broke into the night as Emily had used her fingernails to carefully carve out pieces of the little girl's skin. A knife was messy and could not be completely controlled, but something just as sharp, just as deadly which Emily could manipulate with the literal flick of a finger got the job done. Katherine always stood by during times like these, fascinated to watch her sister work.

In the present, Emily relived every sob, every painful scream, only this time she warranted no joy from the agony evoked on the poor girl's face. The memory was so real she could actually feel herself digging into her own flesh, biting at her own veins, and laughing in her own ear at the way her body writhed and contorted and begged for an end.

_This is it. This is me…from now on…because my heart beats…_

Emily's hand pressed into the exposed wound until she felt the large, blood-soaked muscle pulse against her fingertips. It was faint but consistent, and in that moment, she unwillingly accepted her new fate.

_Because I am alive…._

But she wouldn't be for much longer if she didn't find some way to feed her slowly deteriorating body. Alongside the wall she heard scuttles and squeaks. A long inhale unearthed he odious scent of garbage, fungus, possible disease but definitely…blood flow. Emily's stomach turned and her face grimaced. She'd spent every moment of her reborn life feasting on the sweetest blood throughout the four corners of the world, and now she was weighing the possibilities of scavenging for...rats.

_Maybe what happened on the bridge with the man was a fluke. Maybe I could drink a human. As long as I—I don't kill them. That's it. No. I won't kill them I'll just—_

"Miss?" Emily's head turned and several inches below her she was met with soft, forest green eyes attached to a tuft of light blonde hair atop flushed cheeks. "You all righ', miss?" the little boy asked, holding his hand out toward her and pointing at the blood which was now grossly stained on the white button-down. Emily braced herself against the back of the wall and presented her hand to the lad. Her eyes locked with his as she mentally beckoned him forward. Once his tiny flingers drifted into hers, Emily's sharpened vision zeroed in on the pumping artery of his neck. One bite and he would bleed out; he was too young to make a full recovery from her deadly attack.

_I'm...so...hungry..._

She knelt to her knees. The boy kept staring at her, watching closely, unflinching as she brought his small wrist to her lips.

He didn't try to run. His face didn't crinkle in fear or sorrow. It was if he were...allowing her to do what she must. Emily's eyes prickled with tears as her gaze shifted between the boy's wrist and his own calm, green irises. Time slowed, and for several seconds, the hunger and guilt wielding a battle through Emily ceased and the two strangers were connected by the courageous selflessness radiating from the boy.

"Why're you crying?" the soft voice at Emily's ear asked in gentle sincerity. Sniffling back the flow of tears, Emily mumbled,

"I-I'm so sorry, little one." Her thumb coated the inside of the boy's wrist and she ran her palms down either side of the hem of his jacket, tenderly bringing him toward her as she ruffled his jacket playfully and lowered his hand to his side. "What is your name, young man?" she asked.

"James, ma'am, but m'friends call me by m'surname."

"Which is?"

"Cook, ma'am. M'nayme es James Cook." Emily smiled at the proud, cheeky grin which flooded the tone of his address. Emily's hands trembled, the smell of the boy's skin overwhelming her senses as she kept him close.

"You're very brave," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "You shouldn't be out on the streets alone at night." Cook smiled.

"I ain' afraid, miss. An' I ain' alone." Emily's brow furrowed as he added as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Yer here." A sad smile brushed through Emily's lips.

"How old are you James?"

"Eight," he replied. Fastening Cook's jacket closed, Emily looked the young lad directly in the eye and commanded,

"I want you to run home, James. Run home as fast as you can, and don't stop for any reason." The boy blinked twice, and as she stood, backing away from him slowly, he turned over his shoulder and dashed off as fast as his little legs would carry him.

As she watched his wee form disappear, she felt the gnawing in her chest fade to a mild discomfort. It was only a momentary release, however, as the back of her throat ran dry. Her vision blurred and she slunk down against the wall, the damp sewage of three days rain soaking into already drenched clothing.

She heard it again. Tiny little claws clamoring against the pavement and brick. It made her want to vomit thinking about what she knew was an inevitability if she hoped to begin to heal, but she fought it for a moment longer, and closed her eyes. Concentrating hard, she mentally cried out,

_Katherine...Katherine...where are you? Why can't I hear you? What's happened? I need you! Why won't you answer me?!_

Emily wrapped her arms around her shoulders and steeled her nerves. Slowly, her balled fists fell to her side as she zipped through the alley at lightning speed, overturning trashcans, punching through weakly cemented walls, and yanking back sewer drains until she held the bleeding, stinking corpses of over a dozen rats in her hands. Their tails and noses still twitched, but none made a sound. Each one had their throats ripped out as they bled profusely. And silently. Closing her eyes, Emily lowered her fangs and bit through the layers of fur and flesh to drain each rodent dry, tossing its body away the minute she was done and moving on to the next.

Finally the gruesome deed was complete, and Emily opted to wipe her mouth clean instead of licking her lips of the remaining liquid. Palming her chest, she found the wound was smaller. Fed but not filled, she leaned against a flickering lamppost as the onslaught of the voices returned to her in a steady climactic rise. Her arms gripped the wet metal. Her knees started to shake, and a familiar feeling of foreboding rose through her entire body. Searching the street, she saw the faintest hint of dawn rise up over the city. A new bout of panic propelled her into the streets, looking for some place to hide from the oncoming sun. Her weary feet carried her a block down the avenue before she saw an open basement window in a nearby flat, cracked open only a few inches. It would take some doing but it was manageable. Crossing the road, she made sure there was no one around, unsure whether the voices which were causing her fear were ones from passerbys or the echoes of her ghosts in her memory. Determining she couldn't waste another second, she pried the window free of its locked chamber and laying flat on her belly, scooted slowly through the tight fitted window.

With a loud crash she fell to the ground of the basement floor, having nothing beneath her to stop her from colliding immediately with the ice cold cement. Her head knocked hard, causing stars to bespeckle her eyes. Rotating her gaze about, she saw blurred images of the packing supplies which occupied the bottom floor of this particular residence and little else within the room. It smelt of dank mildew, and her sensitive ears could hear pests scratching against the insides of the walls.

_Alone...in the shadow...Katie...why have you abandoned me?..._

Rolling onto her side she crawled the few inches across the floor to the nearest metal beam, her clawed fingernails sinking into its tough exterior to hoist her into a seated position against it. With each push of strenuous effort, another voice started to ring in her ear. By the time she was fully upright they had swelled into a mumbled chorus. No singular one could be picked out amongst the continuous den of cries, moans, screams, and curses as Emily snuffed out each life and it cycled over...and over...as Emily practically shoved her palms into her ears, praying that it stopped, if only for a second as the sun rose on the new day of Emily's new life.

* * *

The living quarters of the abandoned flat half a mile from the Bristol canal still appeared undisturbed to any of the random passers by that afternoon. But below, in the slowly rotting, permeating basement, Emily Fitch was reliving her personal hell. Each second extended into eternity as her mind cycled through the last two centuries of terror she had rained down upon the world on repeat. Never a moment's peace. Never a second to breathe and break away from the soul-crushing guilt and physically draining agony each account brought with it. Crouched low in a corner, cheeks sallow and devoid of color from nearly three days lack of feeding, the youngest Fitch twin had kept her hands clamped firm over her ears, hoping to keep the demons in her head from leaking out into reality.

But what was reality and what was a dream at this point, Emily could no longer be certain. If she thought for a second to open her eyes she just saw one face meld into another, cursing her name, crying out in agony for her lack of mercy. Young, old, male, female, rich, poor, no shadow was kept from the light of Emily's memory. Her eyes had gone dry from all the tears she had shed, the cuffs of her ears raw and bleeding from where she had clutched and clenched her clawed fingernails around them. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, her voice was cracked and long gone from the howls of regret, remorse, and pleading into the night for something to end her misery. She had not slept since she crawled into the darkened space, and refused to feed and potentially add another face to the ones which haunted her waking nightmares. All she could do was sit and cry like a pathetically lost child, hoping her sister would find her...if only to end her miserable existence.

_Why didn't you just kill me? Why didn't you just fucking kill me? I was already dead! I am dead! They're all dead, every one of them! I killed them! I'm sorry-I'm so sorry, I can't undo it! Please let me undo it! I want to undo it!_

Reaching her shaking limbs out toward the wall in front of her, she fingertips latched on to a brick jutting out from the wall. Using what was left of the strength in her shoulders she brought herself to her feet, feeling every inch of the strain in her upper back. Once she was upright she lost her balance almost immediately, her forehead colliding against the wet blocks in front of her. Her lithe and starving body collapsed onto a large wooden box, her upper arms snagging on the splintering wood as they slid down the grainy edges. The blood which leaked from the torn suit sleeves coagulated immediately as it leaked from Emily's pale, cooling skin.

_I didn't know I could starve..._

Emily's eyes fluttered closed as she listened to the echo of her heartbeat amongst the chilling echoes inside her head. It was all one oceanic rush of sound now, pressing against her throbbing temples as her head slowly rested against the crate, the sharp edge pushing into her high, exposed cheekbone. Once her eyes shut the onslaught of voices started to fade, replaced now with the echo of her shallow breathing. Her ears started to ring. Her eyelids continued to flutter despite being closed and her eyeballs darted around in her sockets. Slowly her arms went limp, resting atop the slightly larger box just beneath the one which acted as a headrest. Eventually the ruckus in her mind had faded away completely, leaving her a final moment's peace.

_So this is what it's like to die...again..._

"Emily," a soft voice whispered. It was laced in silken kindness, and for a moment, Emily wasn't sure if it was another memory or if there really was someone in the room with her. "Emily," the voice beckoned yet again, "Emily open your eyes." A warmth which had not enveloped her in years was suddenly tugging at her heart as she strained to open her eyes as the stranger requested. She could not open them any further than tiny slits, presenting the vision before her as nothing more than a blur of soft, glowing light. The first thing distinguishable in the haze of Emily's slow drown with consciousness was a pair of eyes, the bluest Emily had ever seen. The centers were soft, pure, unmarred by anything wicked, coated in a ring of periwinkle. They peered into Emily, calling her out of her deflating spiral, yearning her back to the plane which she sought to abandon. Slowly the eyes gave way to a face, delicate and soft with full lips turned in a sorrowful smile. Long, yellowish white hair fell around the shoulders of the woman which now sat before Emily. The voice falling musically from the personage's lips was gentle and affectionate. "Emily, listen to me, this is it. You have a choice. You can leave this world as a plight or..." a gentle finger caressed Emily's cheek, "...you can mend your otherwise inevitable hellish fate."

Emily's darkened eyes stared back at the personage. Tiny little freckles, so faint they would have gone unnoticed by anyone without Emily's supernatural senses, lightly kissed the cheekbones of the face before her. It kept Emily focused on the eyes making her an offer, a promise, a...pardon. "Will it..." Emily choked on the words, having to cough and inhale several times before she reached up and tapped the side of her head. The personage's smile faded as she took on to Emily's indication.

"There isn't anything I can do about the guilt, Emily," she said with weighted sincerity, "it's your own to bear. Always. But eventually, you would be able to live with it." Emily licked her parched lips and swallowed as her weak hand slowly lowered back to its former resting position on the box.

"Will you help me?" she asked, wanting to reach out for the beautiful, vibrant thing before her, but innately knowing she was beneath the radiant presence offering her solace and therefore remained unmoving. The smile returned to the beautiful stranger as she replied,

"I am." With those two words, the being faded through the light it had been brought in on. Emily's heart seized in panic as she forced herself to her feet, head darting about in a spinning haze as she looked for the comforting personage which had asked her not to give up. Tears welled in Emily's eyes as she felt the warmth leave the room and her heart. Once again she was left in nothing but darkness.

_Only now, something...someone...is asking you to try._

* * *

_London, 1931_

Film houses grew darker and less crowded as the Great Slump slowly confined everyone to a factory machine or saw to it they stayed at home, stomachs tightening on cabbage and beans or otherwise asleep in their beds. No one had time for frivolity and luxurious items such as widespread entertainment. The talking picture was new and there were rumors about Metro Goldwyn Mayer creating something never before dreamed of in the industry: colored films. Johnny Golermo wanted nothing more than to be a part of the ever changing revolution, but his fourteen hour a day shifts kept him working later and later in the evenings. Yet as a small compesating reward for his daily labor, he always made sure he walked past The Paramount on his way home.

The February snow was deep and his shoes were filled with soot and grime from the chimneys he'd swept earlier that day causing him to leave black footprints as he trudged home. His scabbed knuckles and boney fingers pulled the thin fabric of his coat tighter around his neck as he turned the corner and peered up at the brightly lit sign. Below the bright red flashing nameplate was a poster of their latest film. The young man's eyes grew wide as he stared at the bright colors of the two dimensional drawing of a man with slicked back black hair, a jeweled collared shirt, and a long black cape which he spread out wide beneath the title of the film as a woman screamed in horror at his feet.

"Dracula," Johnny whispered in awe, a smile beaming wide across his lips as he neared the poster beneath the frosting glass to have a better look.

"'S good won mai'," a thick Derby accent mumbled from behind him. The boy turned slowly in the snow, eyes weary and tired to see a shirtless figure walk toward him from what he now noticed was a rather deserted street. Once he was in the light of the streetlamp the sandy haired figure brandished a broad smile. "Seen eht 'bout free times meself." Johnny pulled his jacket tighter as the smiling stranger approached. There was something very leery and foreboding about the way the young man swaggered in his direction, toothpick dangling out of the corner of his lips. His hand reached up and took the tiny piece of wood in his hands before cleaning a back tooth and then flicking the pick into the snow. Johnny backed up a few steps as the stranger reached into his trouser pocket. He chuckled at the way Johnny's hands began to tremble, certain he was reaching for a knife or worse yet a gun. Instead he merely pulled out a white paper package and extended it toward Johnny. "Looks like ye could use one," he said with an open invitation for Johnny to take the offered fag. Johnny slowly reached out and removed one from the package, his arm fully extended to keep a bit of distance from the stranger who was scanning him head to foot in a curious manner. Johnny figured he had to be some sort of fop and that this was possibly an open invitation for some sort of prostitution but...work had been long and hard. And Johnny really needed that cigarette.

"Thanks," he mumbled, reaching into his pocket for the matches he used to light the wicks of the chimneys. His fingers trembled in the biting cold as he struggled to slide the package open. Suddenly the stranger closed the remaining distance between them as he took the matches from Johnny's hand and within seconds had one lit before the dangling cigarette. The stranger grinned as he held his free palm up close to the flame to keep the wind at bay. Johnny took a long drag to cherry the fag and once it was properly lit, the stranger dropped the match into the snow which crackled against the tiny impact of the fire. Using his thumb to flick the filter and send the initial bits of ash to the ground, Johnny stared at the stranger's shirtless upper torso. He was lithe but fit, his hair shaggy but still fairly well groomed.

_Definitely a fop_, he decided. "Aren't you a bit cold?" The smile melted from the stranger's face. He plucked the fag from Johnny's lips and placed it in his own. Taking a long drag he burned away half the tobacco and when he exhaled, blew the smoke directly into Johnny's eyes causing them to water as he coughed in reaction.

"Lessuva mess," the sandy haired boy said, his voice even lower than before, the slight rumblings of a growl echoing in the back of his throat as he spoke. Johnny wiped at his eyes as he tried to focus on the man before him. His lips thinned as his jaw clenched and Johnny saw his eyes begin to glow a haunting shade of yellow which took up the entirety of his iris. Johnny backed away a few steps but the stranger kept the distance close with each stride. "Fer when I kill ya, ye see," he added, a realistic and terrifying bark passing through his lips as his face closed the remaining. Johnny's lips trembled as he turned and ran.

Johnny didn't make it far. As he rounded the corner he came face to face with the same yellow eyes he had left under the dimming cinema lights. Only now the reflective gaze was staring back at him in the form of a giant, black wolf. His muzzle snarled and his fangs dripped as Johnny swore on what he was sure to be his nearly final breath, the animal was smiling at him. The young man trembled so violently he fell back into the snow, feeling a hot warm liquid run down the inside of his trousers. The minute he lost his footing he felt the wolf's heavy paws clamp down on atop his wrists, breaking them upon impact. Johnny scremed, wondering why there was no one around on the streets to help him as the dripping, snarling muzzle lowered its way down to Johnny's jugular.

Just as Johnny shut his eyes, the weight from atop him vanished and a loud crash echoed down the alley. The panic stricken man opened his eyes and saw a small woman standing next to his head. His visible breath panted around the straps of her boots as he peered up into her thick raven hair. Her darkened eyes were fixed forward and without even acknowledging his presence, she whispered, "Run." Without a moment's hesitation, Johnny scrambled to his feet and bolted clear of the alleyway.

What the woman approached was not a wolf, nor a dog. Crawling from behind the broken trashcans, struggling to stand on two feet as he held his head was the same sandy-haired boy from the movie house. Only now, he was starkers. The woman blinked a few times, rather unimpressed with his nude frame and quickly put two and two together. "I haven't seen a werewolf in London in over a century," she said with a shallow smile, "someone should consider making a film about that instead." The man stumbled toward her, the back of his wrist wiping at the blood which fell from a cut just above his eyebrow.

"Ye followed me a ways," he said, his voice ragged, "en ye cost me dinner." The woman shoved her hands deep into her pockets, and removed a solid silver coin. The man halted in his tracks, immediately noticing how well even the faintest street light popped across the pure metal. She twirled it across the tops of her fingers as he quietly pondered her intentions. One flick of a wrist from someone who had just kicked his arse across the street could easily pop out his eye, or slash at his throat. And he wasn't keen on either occuring. From where the woman stood, he could finally get a decent look at her face...and the momentary glance was enough to cause him to burst into laughter. Quite hysterically. "Fook me," he said, "holy shit, she said you was dead, I cahn' believe eht." He threw his head back, blood dripping immediately to the ground as he held his side, clearly finding himself uncontrollably amusing.

The woman side stepped him, beginning to circle around into the actual alley so she wasn't quite as visible in the faded light. She looked him up and down, mulling over the words he's just said in her head. She had no recollection who the young man could be, though he did carry a certain air of familiarity.

_He can't be any more than sixteen...maybe seventeen..._

She ran her tongue along the edges of her upper teeth as she finally asked, "Who said I was dead?" The young man smiled as he crossed into the battle lines she was invisibly drawing between them. His silhouette masked his features but his eyes began glowing a bright yellow. The woman stayed rooted to the spot as he answered the question by rushing toward her with a single powerful bound.

She caught him mid-air, moving faster than even his abilities allowed him. He could easily snap a human in two, but she was far more equipped to handle his condition. Pinning him to the ground, her free hand grabbed his wrists and locked them firmly above his head as she straddled his waist. "I've never actually eaten dog," she opened her mouth as her fangs instantly lowered, "But I'll try anything once." The young man merely smiled back at her, his face never falling into panic or fear as she lowered herself down to him. She thought it strange, but didn't stop until her thumb brushed against his wrist.

Blood is so incredibly important, not because it replaces the still beating heart within, but because it is life itself: a human being's soul is written in their blood stream, and it is this consumption which allows the parasite consuming on its flesh the extraordinary power and gifts allotted to the cursed life. Each flow, each pulse is purposeful and extraordinarily unique. In that moment, Emily Fitch had only felt this pulse one other time in her life...from a lad eighteen years ago in an alleyway in Bristol...but there was something else equally familiar about it his flow. Something which didn't originate in this stream...it was placed there...something which matched the ancient blood pumping through Emily herself.

Emily's teeth stopped short as she locked eyes with the young man, the yellow glow having faded to his soft baby blues. Her nose crinkled as she asked, "James?" The young man smiled back at her.

"Cook, luv. 'Member?" With a swift knee to Emily's lower back, she fell from atop Cook, rolling over just enough so he could scramble from underneath her. Transforming immediately, he shed his human exterior and morphed back into the giant black beast. His padded paws made no sound as he bolted into the darkened night.

Head resting in the snow, Emily blinked several times as she registered everything which had transpired, and only one sentence made any sort of sense:

_Cook is alive...and young...because of my twin's blood..._


	3. My Shangri-Las

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for the reads and reviews. Apologies for the long wait with this chapter, but this sequence is very important in setting up a lot, so I wanted to take my time. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER THREE: My Shangri-Las**

_Bristol, 1778_

Emily sat at the tiny wooden table in the Fitch's small kitchenette. Flexing and unflexing her tired hands, she picked up the inkwell pen and continued to scrawl onto paper. She'd written this letter several times in her head, but formulating the correct words now was proving quite taxing. Her mother and brother were out to fetch what food Robert Fitch's minimal salary could provide. All in all they managed to get by better than some, but it had long ago proven not nearly enough for Emily.

She had purchased passage on a ship which was leaving Bristol for Manchester in the morning. It had been a hard decision to come to. Yet after the tragic passing of her husband (whom she had admittedly only known for a few days prior to the engagement), and her hand being forced to return home to her family, she'd long ago felt nothing more than a burden to the already difficult situation the Fitches still found themselves in. So now she sat, mulling over the proper words which could manage to say "thank you" and "goodbye" all in one go. She didn't really know what awaited her in the larger city, but she had faith she was old enough to make it out on her own. Really the only one who she knew would miss her most would be—

"Emily!" a spry voice called through the door followed by a quick rap upon it. "Emily, are you home? Please tell me you're home!" Emily stuffed the parchment under a book near the corner of the desk as she stood and crossed to the door. Upon opening it, she was clutched into a twirling hug by her older twin, Katherine. Doing her best to shut the door behind Katherine's spiraling entrance, Emily released their embrace and observed the expression of joy on her sister's face. "Emily you're not ever going to believe it!" Katherine's cheeks were flushed and her breathing ragged. "I ran all the way from the doctor's. I wanted you to be the first to know. Ethan and I are going to have a baby!"

Emily blinked a few times as her mouth slowly dropped and then widened into a smile. She was going to be an aunt. Her quiet, simple reaction caused Katie to throw her arms around her sister once more as the twins pulled themselves tightly together. Within the embrace, the weight of Emily's impending departure hit her hard. Surely now she couldn't leave Katherine to fend for a baby all by herself. She knew her mother would help, but having a child was very difficult. It took a village, as she read once. Removing herself from her sister's arms, Katherine swished her skirt from side to side as she began prancing about the room, ironing out her intended plans, "So. I thought that once the baby arrives you and mother could come stay in the guest room for the first few months or so. It'd be only right for him to be named Ethan, after his father. Of course, I suppose it'd be fair to let Ethan know we've decided that once I've told him." Emily turned on her heel to find Katherine had begun plucking through the cherries set on the counter, peeling the skins back and removing the pits with a child-like ease.

"Ethan wasn't with you at the doctor's?" Katherine popped a cherry into her mouth as she shrugged.

"He had to work late at the shop. Besides," Katherine took her sister's hands, her eyes dancing brightly as she giggled again with the twins' shared secret, "who else was I going to tell first but the person I love most in this world?" She kissed her sister's cheek and then wrapped her arms around Emily's neck. "I'm going to need you so much now, Emily. More than ever."

It was strange. The pleading tone which had dipped into Katherine's cadence unnerved Emily. It was as if…there had been some part of Katherine which had sensed Emily was planning to leave Bristol. She knew it was rather impossible. There was no way Katherine could know that for certain. Still….

"Of course, Katie," she said, using the nickname only Emily was ever allowed to bestow as her hands lightly rubbed the lower part of Katherine's back, "I'm always going to be here." She closed her eyes and lowered her chin into the crook of Katie's neck, breathing in a scent which was familiar and forever foreign.

_I'm going to be an aunt…_

* * *

_Later, the same evening_

Katherine tossed another ball of yarn into the basket beside the rocking chair. The sun had set several hours ago and Ethan had yet to return home. Katherine was beginning to worry. She kept his dinner warm in a pot atop the oven while she kept her nervous hands busy with yet another attempt at learning how to knit. For as insistently domestic as she had groomed herself to be, the poor woman didn't possess a single skill which afforded it. She's spent all of her youngest years trying to learn the bait and snatch of dating to woo the proper husband, and she had marvelously succeeded when, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Ethan Graham had asked her to marry him. The June wedding had been a bright and perfect day, a rarity in the smoggy, wet port city of Bristol. They had been trying ever since to conceive, and after nearly four years of waiting, she would finally be able to look her husband in the eye and reveal they were going to have a baby. "If he'd ever sodding get home," she grumbled for the hundredth time that evening.

Finally, after her third attempt at trying to wrap the blue yarn in with the green, she tossed the knitting needles to the ground. She'd had enough of waiting for him to come to her. Grabbing her shawl from the iron hanger by the door, she threw the fabric over her head and made her way into the slightly drizzling night.

The shop where Ethan worked was less than a quarter mile from where they lived, but the wet cobblestone had sloughed its fair share of mud against the street, causing the hem of Katherine's dress to collect cuffs of mud against her stockings. It was normally a thing which would have caused Mrs. Graham to shirk away from her pursuit in utter disgust, but under the current circumstances she let it be. She was just so thrilled and so happy and to be honest….just the tiniest bit worried. The shop closed over an hour ago, and her broad-shouldered husband easily made the trek swiftly every night. Pushing all ill thoughts to the back of her mind, she continued on through the night, the streetlamps lighting her way every few blocks.

From the skies above, Katherine heard the church bells chime. Every other step she took met a resonating musical note which fluttered through the air. One. Step, step. Two. Step, step. Three. Step, step. For some unknown reason, Katherine's heart began to flutter faster and her pace increased. Five. Step, step, step, step. Six. Step, step, step, step. Seven. Katherine's legs spread into a wide gait as she practically ran around the corner toward the street where her husband's shop resided. Eight. Step-step-step-step-step-step. Nine. Stepstepstepstep. Ten. Step-step-_Thud!_ Katherine's body collided into a cloaked figure. A set of strong arms grappled her arms to steady her until she could gather herself. A tiny squeak escaped Katherine's lips as her own hands wrapped around the man's arms. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," Katherine mumbled as she glanced up a foot above her normal line of vision. The man smiled at her, but the curl of his lips didn't reach his eyes. There were red stains at the corners of his lips which his tongue peeked through and started to lick away as he eyed Katherine up and down.

Extracting her arms from his, she backed away slowly, now only a few paces away from her husband's shop. The street had gone quiet within the last few seconds, and as she turned, she kept her eyes over her shoulder. The man watched, unmoving, just staring, the same disconnected smile plastered on his face. That vacant look was an ice pick to Katherine's spine. Reaching to hike up her skirt, she glanced down at her hands and gasped. They were covered in liquid red. Her fingers moving back and forth were instantly stiff and sticky in the substance. Katherine's heart hammered as it dawned on her what her appendages were covered in, and that it did not belong to her. Turning over her shoulder yet again, she practically spun a half circle when she realized the man was no longer behind her. Her knees trembled as she continued to back away, closer to the safety of the shop. She broke into a sprint, looking in every direction for the hooded figure, until she collided yet again with that dark and vacant smile. Katherine opened her mouth to scream, but the sound never made if from her throat as something painful and sharp dug into her neck, pulling her into a nearby alleyway. Almost instantly she felt her heartbeat begin to slow, her lungs deflating of air, as her arms reached up to try and force her attacker away. But it was a gnat batting a lion…it only caused the pain to sink deeper…and faster. Her eyelids felt heavy, her legs collapsing beneath her as her knees pressed into the lap of her attacker. Glancing up into the night sky, stars began to burst before Katherine's eyes as her arms fell back, fingertips brushing against the wet pavement beneath her.

* * *

It was heavy. So heavy. Crushing. Every body part, every pore was concaving into itself. Something was draped over her upper torso, keeping her pinned to the spot. Opening eyes was impossible. There was something pushing there as well. No need to breathe.

_No need to breathe…._

Her feet shifted up and down, back and forth slowly, oh so slowly, at first. Everything atop her moved as a result. Without inhaling, she could smell the damp sponge of dirt encasing her. If she could wiggle her feet, she could wiggle her hands. Remarkably, it didn't take much, considering the force of the equally measured weight pressing from all around. Then there was this…this long limb which kept her torso still. Pushing through the dirt, she removed the impending mass with no objections. A single, instinctual thought popped into her brain as she felt the sudden burst of beginning freedom.

_Tunnel…._

Pressing her shoulders back into the loose cave beneath, Katherine clawed through the mounds of earth, bugs, debris and decay. With each clutch of dirt, with each strain of her muscles, she felt herself awaken, felt her eyes give way to tiny specks of light within the tomb and her ears resonate with the crawling of the earth which enveloped her entire being. Eventually, both her hands simultaneously peeled through the top layer of soil, loosely packed on top of her as her head shifted its way out.

Thick, smoky moonlight which shone as brightly as the sun was the very first thing her new eyes saw. It cast the entirety of the earth before her in hues of white and blue, more radiant than any spectrum of color she had ever beheld. Shaking the remaining dust and dirt from her eyes and hair, she blinked several times, taking in all the visceral sights around her. Wonderment settled into her features as she lifted herself out of the ground like a newborn child being welcomed into an infant, wondrous world.

A shuffle from the ground below heralded the masked figure which had grappled with Katherine in the alleyway. The human urge to attack the creature had faded into eerie attachment. He was much quicker to remove himself from the makeshift grave than Katherine had been, walking over to her immediately and helping her up from where she knelt. His cloaked face whispered to her softly, "You are reborn, my childe. You have risen to a god and will never have to know grief, disease, misery, or even death." His hands were cold and his finger nails clasped into Katherine's wrists. The pain was pleasurable as she continued to search his face for some form of identification or life. He spoke to her as a grandfather would their youngest before they departed from this world. "Heed me, Katherine. You must never return to the life you once knew."

Katherine's brow furrowed as she wrenched her hands from his. "That's not how it's going to happen," she insisted, "I want Ethan. And we're going to have a baby." The shrouded hand with long fingernails slinked across Katherine's stomach, and she knew…long before he said the words…nothing with life grew inside her any longer.

Her entire body began to tremble and for a moment, she didn't feel this newfound energy passing through her veins, she didn't connect with the earth as one of its new creations, she didn't understand things beyond all others possible comprehension…she merely clutched at the fabric around her stomach where the stranger's hand was removed as the tears stung the corners of her cheeks. A strangled question, laced in the onset of hatred, coated her voice as she asked, "What the hell have you done to me?" But she inquired to silence, for the minute the words escaped her lips she stood alone, covered in the ground of her grave as the rain began to fall. It should have been baptismal, but it only served as an echo to carry her heartbroken cries through the night.

* * *

_Two days later…_

Emily slumped down into the table, her freezing, dirtied cloak brushing against the wooden floor of the Fitch's living room. Reaching for the nearby pitcher, she filled a glass and downed three-fourths of its contents. She didn't care the water was warm; she just needed something to quench her thirst. Her ice-bitten lips trembled as the metal touched her lips, a strong, copper taste flooding her mouth with each eager swallow. Her mouth was cracked from the forty-eight hours spent out in the onset of the second heaviest snowfall of the season, but she could only spare to rest for a moment.

_Ten minutes_, she had promised herself, _just enough time to recharge, and then I'll keep looking…I have to keep looking…._

No one had seen nor heard from Katherine since she had giddily skipped away from Emily, eager to regale her husband with the news of her pregnancy. There was nothing more unlike her twin than to delay the opportunity to speak about herself. Her father, her ten year old brother, James, and Ethan had gathered together the rest of the Graham brothers and had scoured every cranny of Bristol. What no one was aware of is while the entire rest of the homestead slept, and in any stolen hours she could manage, Emily crept away, searching areas and grounds only she would ever think to look. She was appalled when no one asked her to join the small hunting party, clearly being the optimum option for finding Katherine the fastest. There had been no results thus far.

Rob's step had been a bit heavier, his brow a bit sadder as the cold hours began to tick later and later. Little James was kept mostly in the dark about it all, and Ethan, a magistrate of the strong, silent type, hadn't much to say on the matter at all. Jenna Fitch had taken to mumbling to herself about how it wasn't good and proper for a young woman to be out on her wits end, especially in her condition. When Katherine didn't come home the next morning, and still had not returned that afternoon, Emily had been left with no choice but to inform everyone of Katherine's pregnancy.

_She's alive…I would know if that weren't the case…_

Pounding on the door broke Emily from her thoughts as she immediately stood and unhooked the latch. Throwing open the door, Emily's eyes widened as she stared down the battered, dirty, and half frozen sight before her. "Katherine!" Her arms wrapped tightly around her twin's shoulders as she crossed the threshold into the lightly falling snow.

"Emily," Katherine whispered softly, her face nuzzling into the hair pressed against her sister's neck. A chill ran down Emily's spine at the haunting sensuality in which her name caressed across her sister's lips. Yet as quickly as it had arisen it was gone. She pulled back and gaped at the gaunt, sallow tint of Katherine's skin and vacant stare with which her sister returned her gaze. With some minor trepidation, Emily pulled Katherine toward the door. Emily backed through the doorway, and immediately felt a harsh tug against their clasped hands, as if some invisible force were preventing Katherine from stepping into the house.

"Come in, will you? You look like death." A ghost of a laugh brushed over Katherine's lips as she stepped into the fire lit room and Emily shut them out from the chill of the night. "Where have you been?" she questioned hurriedly, crossing to the nearby stovetop and filling the kettle with water. "We've been looking for you for days, Ethan's half mad with worry. At least…I suppose he is. Hard to tell with him."

A dispiriting air settled into the room as Emily glanced over her shoulder at her twin. Standing by the threshold of the doorway, Katherine's eyes were looking about the room, her head twitching in each direction she gazed. Her arms rested at both sides, fingers dangling loosely but constantly moving.

_It's as if she has no idea where she is._

The flames from the fire played against the hem of Katherine's dress which originally had been an off-pink but now was stained with mud and a deep, blackish red which trailed up into the pull of the belt about her waist. Her top of her chest and neck were fully exposed, and there was even more dirt and grime covering the bare skin…skin which somehow looked…paler, almost translucent. Clearing her throat, Emily tread lightly to the sofa, her legs brushing against the arm rest. She felt the need to sit but for some unknown reason didn't fancy the idea of taking her eyes off her sister. "What happened to your dress?" she finally decided to ask.

Katherine stretched her arm behind her, brushing the air in front of the door to make it close.

_No, she…she definitely touched the door…it was just quick…the firelight obscured the proper line of sight. She can't possibly…_

The older twin's lips curled into a half smile, and her eyes flashed with a glint of a sparkle as if to say, _Interesting_.

A shaking fear began to settle in the pit of Emily's stomach. She'd just never seen Katherine look so…calm, calculated…empty. "Katie-kay?" she whispered. Before her eyelashes could close and reopen in a proper blink Katherine stood before her, nose to nose. Emily let out a tiny shriek as her sister's eyes dilated in front of her.

"Why are you talking twin, we don't do that anymore," she stated very matter of factly. Emily's lips pursed shut. They were close enough now that Emily should have felt her sister's breath against her lips, seen her chest rise and fall in flushed exhaustion from having traveled the entirety of the room in less than a second. Neither were present. Katherine smiled as she leaned back, her shoulders and hips slumping into her usual, casual saunter. "I'm fine though, thanks," she answered.

The kettle began to whistle. With an uncharacteristically smooth swoop over her shoulder, Katherine glided toward the stove and removed the water from the warm iron. Steam was rising out of the top, brushing against Katherine's skin which instantly started to pink. The Fitch twin, however, didn't even flinch and instead, held the kettle as she reached into the pantry above and removed the tea bags, placing one each into the saucers. Emily watched in rapt confusion as Katherine poured and prepared the tea, all the while Emily kept her focus on Katherine's hand, watching it slowly redden to a bright crimson. Her sister made no effort to remedy against the heat. Once the kettle was placed down on the stove yet again, Katherine poured clover honey into the white tea. When she turned, she held out the tea toward Emily, the red appendage now nothing more than a soft, rosy tint. Katherine smiled, "I'll set mine down," she replied, never having taken her tea any sooner than at least fifteen minutes after it had been prepared. Slowly, Emily took the cup from her sister's hand, but immediately placed it on a nearby counter top.

Katherine strolled into the center of the room, Emily following a few feet behind. "Katie…_tell_ me. Where have you been?" she demanded, a sudden burst of courage leaking through her voice. Katherine brought the scalding hot liquid to her lips and sipped as she stared down at the table Emily had been writing on and read over the papers before her. Emily's hands darted toward the parchments, crumbling them in her hands before tossing all of it into the waste bin.

"Does that mean you've changed your mind?" Katherine asked as she placed the saucer, now drained of its contents on the table Emily had just cleared.

"Katie, _stop_ it. You're—you're starting to _scare_ me, why won't you just—"

"That's the third time you've called me Katie." Katherine's eyes examined her younger twin up and down. Emily's stern features softened just the tiniest bit as her eyes melted with concern.

_You're different._

"I know," Katherine answered. Emily backed away slowly, inching closer to the door.

"What?"

"Don't look so startled," Katherine said with a sincere smile, "You said 'you're different' and I merely said, 'I know.'"

"Katherine, I didn't say anything." Katherine's eyes narrowed, the same look of curiosity from earlier laden in her features.

"Hm," she merely said as her eyes bore focus deep into Emily.

"Stop." Katherine's wordless lips blasted the commanding ring into Emily's head. Emily froze, unable to take another step to the door or anywhere else. "Come here," it demanded. Emily's mind bellowed nonsensically in protest, but her feet acted of their own volition, taking steady steps toward her sister. When they were a hairbreadth apart, Emily watched as Katherine's pupils filled out her chocolate irises, drowning the color with nothing but abyss.

Katherine's hand slowly rose and gingerly cupped her sister's cheek. Emily flinched at the contact, the icy skin causing her face to flush immediately. "Emily," Katherine whispered, "I lost the baby." Emily's eyes softened as she battled the urge to embrace her sister but was still left immobile by the force wrapped around her like a boa constrictor. "But I've found something new, something so much better." Katherine closed the distance between them by bringing her other hand to Emily's neck, keeping their eyes locked. "I'm new, Emily. I'm…better. I can see that now. Being here with you, I can see the turbulent coil you're spinning in and I love you so much, Emily, I want to free you from that." An eerily calm and comforting smile painted at the corner of Katherine's lips as she added, "We're twins, aren't we? Everything together? Always?"

Emily's hands trembled at her side. She didn't know what had happened to her sister, to her soiled dress, to her icy hands, to her beckoning voice, to…the sharp points which had formed around the edges of two of her teeth. Katherine neared her sister, turning slowly as her head brushed into her hair. Emily closed her eyes, uncertain of what would happen next but a small part of her knowing…trusting her sister that whatever it was…she would be all right. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she placed her hand atop Katherine's chest. Her eyes shot open as she touched the place against the chilled skin where there should have been a heartbeat…but there was nothing…

With all her might, Emily retched away just as she felt a sharp prick against her skin, shoving Katherine away with both hands. The force should have been enough to knock Katherine to the floor, but all it managed was a separating inch, just enough for Emily to slink back from her twin and press her body loudly against the front door. "No!" shrieked Emily, some part of her mind registering what she was seeing, but refusing for any of it to be true.

She and Katherine were only separated for a moment longer before she felt the full weight of her twin atop her. As if it were a response to Emily's cry, Katherine's sharp teeth dug into the flesh of Emily's neck. The younger twin tried to scream but was drained of voice as the searing pain traveled through her neck and into her head. Her ears rang, a pounding surged behind her eyes as her arms pushed, beat, and clawed at her twin trying to pry her off. Yet it was like their bodies were fused and molded as one and every effort Emily exerted only acted to tire her. Her beating fists gave way to soft, splayed palms as Katherine slowly sank them to the ground, her arms pulling in the full weight of her sister. Emily's eyes stared into the fire as blackness absorbed her vision slowly from every angle. She was dying, and left without any single final words to say. So she thought them instead:

_I will never forgive you…_

* * *

Jenna Fitch's hands worked furiously at the knitting as she tried very hard not to think on the whereabouts of her daughters. Nearly a week had gone by now since anyone had seen a trace of Katherine, only to have Emily leave Bristol for good. Jenna had been shocked her twin would run out on the family so soon, but Emily's note had been quite clear. She sought bigger and brighter skies. Jenna wrapped another piece of yarn angrily around the long needle, releasing a huff as she pricked the edge of her finger on the sharp tip. "Tss," she inhaled, sticking the wound instantly into her mouth.

"Do you need me to get a wrap?" James asked from where his nose remained in a school book, eager to get up and away from his boring studies. His father had insisted he had already lost enough days out with Ethan and himself, and that it wouldn't be long before the constable came round if he did not attend to his studies. The ten year old's toes scraped the floor beneath the table as he waited for his mum's hopeful answer. Normally he'd be up in a shot, with or without permission, but Jenna had been unnaturally attentive to the young boy. She didn't even dare having anyone sleep in separate rooms, having moved his military cot into the master bedroom.

"Ehm fine, James," Jenna snapped in her thick brogue. Watching James' shoulders deflate a bit, Jenna cleared her throat. "But why don't ye relax fer a shahrt while," James was out of his seat before she could even finish that sentence, "but noo go-ehn outside. Nah 'tehl yer father'n Ethan—" the front door swung open, bringing a gusting, snowy wind with it as Rob Fitch and Ethan Graham shuffled into the house. They immediately removed their hats and beat them against the wood paneling by the fireplace. Jenna met them by the door to unsheathe them from the mountains of clothes they had packed on.

"Ye noo I hehte eht when y'do thah', Rob. The snoo mehlts intah th'crracks'n preh-ee soon—"

"—thahre's mold t'suck oop, yes, yes I noo," Rob finished the nagging, memorized line as he tugged his scarf from around his neck. Jenna pulled a sour face, but removed his overcoat none the less. She offered her husband a small smile, which he returned for a brief moment. Rob's normally youthful face was matted with dried dirt and stubble, patches of pink apparent from where the fallen snow had landed on his eyes, brow, and cheeks. He brushed the rest of the white flurries from where they had fallen into his collar and searched the room for his son.

"James!" his dense Scottish accent called. The young boy appeared from around the corner, a piece of chicken in one hand and a biscuit in his mouth. He mumbled a response to his father who approached him and took the food from his son. "Yer sahppose ta weht ferr dehnnerr," he quietly but firmly stated. James shifted his feet, biting his lip and glancing at the ground. He wasn't familiar with his father's stricter tone, but Rob's smile quickly curled and he brought a finger to his lips, returning his son's biscuit to him. Glancing back up, James smiled back as he received and shoved the rest of the biscuit into his mouth. Rob mussed the tuft of James' golden bangs and trudged wearily into the master bedroom to remove the rest of his wet clothing.

Jenna took the opportunity to do her best to question her usually somber son in law about how the evening had played out and had gotten nothing but, "More of the usual," as a response. Ethan sat at the table and removed a flask from within the holster along his belt. He knocked back the warm liquid as he said his second sentence of the evening. "We were trying to conceive." Jenna stopped mid fold of a nearby cardigan which she was fetching for Rob to run her fingers lightly over the fabric.

"They've got to be somewhere," James finally chimed in, ever the obnoxious optimist as he pulled another chicken leg from his pocket and sat at the table across from Ethan. The corner of the quiet man's mouth cracked into the beginnings of a small smile as he nodded in James' direction. Bringing the flask up in his younger brother's direction, James grinned at his certain and innate ability to brighten Ethan's mood. Jenna silently and proudly glowed at the short exchange before heading down the hall.

A low scratching echoed through the living room. James peered around his older brother toward sounds coming from the front door. He glanced up at Ethan who appeared to take no notice whatsoever of the eerie noise which began to repeat itself. James looked around the broad shouldered man again, before standing and walking to the door. Placing an ear against the wood grain he listened intently, hoping to hear something on the other side. Instead, the noise stopped completely. Shrugging, James began to head back to the table when a _BANG_! shook the door. James shrieked in response as Ethan stood and crossed to the door, throwing it open to find Katherine and Emily standing before him. The young man's eyes shown bright for the first time in days as he cried out his wife's name, pulling her into the room in a tight embrace. James watched on in horror as his sister then lowered her mouth onto her husband's neck and bit through his tender skin. James backed up several feet as Katherine brought Ethan to his knees, blood spurting in both directions from around Katherine's mouth until she pulled away, leaving Ethan to gurgle and convulse on the ground. Katherine crossed the length of the room in a second, her mouth still dripping with the moving, red liquid as she grabbed James by the scruff of his neck and commanded, looking into the young boy's terrified eyes, "Invite Emily in."

"C-Come in, Emily," James sputtered as Katherine released her younger brother's jumper. Tears began streaming down James' face as he took in the sight of his two sisters in the nearby fire light. Katherine looked considerably cleaner than Emily, whose dress was covered in streaked mud and dark crimson liquid. Emily staggered in through the front door, nearly collapsing against the railing until Katherine swooped in and wrapped her arms around her sister's waist. Emily lightly pushed against her twin, grumbling something about being able to stand on her own.

_You just need to eat…_she thought so only Emily could hear her.

With a nearly inhuman snap, Emily's head quickly turned in the direction of the hallway. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the faint aftershave her father had always worn to temper out the smell of woodchips on his clothing. Smiling, she pulled away from her sister as Rob Fitch entered the living room.

His face ghosted over in horror as he took in the last sight his eyes would ever see: the bloody corpse of his son in law. He didn't even have time to fully register the fact that Katherine and Emily had returned before Emily's teeth had ripped into his neck from behind, tearing and draining the flesh and muscles beneath. Rob's gaze begged desperately to Katherine for a moment, his lips opening and closing as he tried to speak, blood soaked fingers stretching desperately toward his oldest daughter. She merely smiled. In a matter of seconds, her father's eyes quietly closed as his arms fell to his side. Rob Fitch fell to his knees and then prostrate to the ground as a corpse.

Emily licked her lips as footsteps in the hallway heralded the final victim in the Fitch twins' macabre visit. The two sets of dark chocolate eyes met as Katherine neared her sister and took her hand. Instead of waiting for Jenna to come to them, the oldest twin led the younger down the hallway and met their mother in the kitchen. Holding a few dangling cups, the china immediately fell to the ground once their mother's eyes locked with theirs. Amongst their blood spattered lips, they smiled in a synchronicity which sent a chill surging through Jenna's body. Gripping the counter to keep from fainting, Jenna remained otherwise immobile as her daughters slowly approached. The twins not only could see it, smell it, practically taste it, but they felt the newly infused plasma within their own veins start to pump the tiniest bit faster. Jenna opened her mouth to scream but before she could make a sound, Emily's hand had covered the distance of the hallway and was now placed firmly over her mother's lips.

"We were torn from your womb into this world," Emily snarled into her mother's ear, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust, mommy dearest." Jenna's eyes flashed from Emily to Katherine and back again. Katherine ran her fingers lightly up and down her mother's arm from the opposite side. Tears were rolled down the Jenna's cheeks as Emily removed her hand. Jenna's quivering voice asked,

"What happened tah m'girls? M'babies?" Katherine's smile grew.

"We just wish to return to your suckling breast, Mum," Katherine mocked as her trailed fingers ran to the back of her mother's neck. Katherine eyed the vein beneath as fear pumped Jenna's blood faster. "To crawl back inside you and rip you open." Katherine's sharp fangs lowered as she drank her mother, Jenna's voice forcing a scream at last as Emily joined her sister, pressing her lips to Jenna's jugular. The twins drained their mother of the remaining years of her life. Gently lowering their mother's body to the ground once they had completed their gruesome feast, the sisters looked down at their mother, closing her horrified eyes and shutting her silently screaming lips. Tenderly, Emily placed her mother's hands together over her chest before standing and clutching her sister's hand, bonded forever to the person whom she had already pledged so much of her life.

_We are finally alone in the world_, Emily thought.

_Not yet_, she reminded as she stepped over the head of Jenna Fitch's body and back into the living room.

"I don't know why you still expected him to be here," Emily said, a hint of amusement drifting into her voice as Katherine stared down the flung open door. Unleashing an inhuman growl, Katherine sped through the door and called James' name into the wintery, night air. Emily slowly exited her former home, blood dripping from her fingertips and into the pure white snow. She inhaled the many scents of the Bristol bay as she whispered to her twin,

"Come. He can't have gone far."


End file.
